Unemployment rate surges to 8.3% in December; Highest in Haryana at 37.4%: CMIE

MUMABAI: Unemployment rate in the country has zoomed to a high of 8.3 per cent in December, the highest in 2022, according to data from Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE).

The unemployment rate during November was at 8 per cent, while in September it was the lowest at 6.43 per cent and was at the second highest level during the year at 8.28 per cent in August, the CMIE data stated. While the urban unemployment rate was at 10 per cent during the last month of 2022, rural joblessness stood at 7.5 per cent during December.

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Among the states, unemployment continued to be the highest in Haryana at 37.4 per cent in December, followed by Rajasthan at 28.5 per cent, Delhi 20.8 per cent, Bihar 19.1 per cent and Jharkhand 18 per cent. Analysing the data, TeamLease Services co-founder and executive vice president Rituparna Chakraborty said CMIE Unemployment report at the face of it is an interesting bouquet of bad news and good news.

"One of the alarming possibilities for India given the leading indicators of birth rate and death rate and economic prosperity is the fact that our additions to the labour workforce are likely to slow down like it has happened in China or in Europe and other developed economies," she said.

The so-called demographic dividend could possibly reach the end of the dividend runaway in the near future and hence unemployment going up in the short-run on account of increased labour workforce participation can not be such a bad thing after all, Chakraborty noted.

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However, she said, it is also a reminder how formal job creation is still way behind the run rate that needs to ensure inclusivity in the employment market. CIEL HR Services managing director and CEO Aditya Narayan Mishra said there were no significant new employment opportunities in December.

"Consumer goods, automotives and financial services have had a good run around the festive season of September-December. To cater to this upswing, new jobs were created in August-September. Construction, engineering and manufacturing have not grown considering the inflationary pressures," he noted.

He said, IT, outsourcing, tech-driven startups and services had remained low on activities in December thus impacting employment negatively. "Travel, hospitality and tourism sectors have been on a high in December, however, they have not increased the employment significantly because they are optimising their resources now and backfilling the vacant spots. Pharma, healthcare and life sciences have remained stable in their employment," he added.